Game Theory

I don't buy computer games very often (hey, I use a Mac) but I'm looking forward to getting Spore tomorrow, because it looks like another stroke of genius from Will Wright, the creator of SimCity and The Sims.

SimCity broke new ground way back in 19-can't-be-arsed-to-Google-the-year by being a software toy first (a simulation of a city) and a game second (how big a city can I make? and what happens when I send a great big bloody monster down main street?!)

It was a pattern Wright repeated with The Sims, which was a software toy built around theories about how architecture and environment influence human happiness and lifestyle. They then slapped a big dolls-house "living soap" kind of game over the top of it, but at it's heart it's just a clever simulation toy.

Wright's games do something that few other computer games do, they actually use the power of a computer, i.e. to do stuff other than chuck polygons at the screen. They make the computer think, and as a result they make the player think too. For example, before I played SimCity I had no understanding of the complex interplay of industry, commerce and populace in a modern city; and before The Sims I didn't realise how important a proper breakfast is to getting a job as an astronaut.

With Spore, I'm hoping to learn the ideal number of legs a plucky young lifeform needs to conquer the galaxy, but we shall see.

For the last few weeks, I've been playing around with the Spore Creature Creator, which costs a mere £5 to download (or completely free for the trial version) and is an awesome amount of fun. And it's even available on Mac! I urge you to have a go.

Once you get bored of creating dinosaurs and giant perambulatory penises (everyone does it) you can have a go at creating truly unique creatures, or truly derivative ones. I had a crack at making Great Atuin. But my ambitious plans to include the elephants and discworld, meant I ran out of bits before he was finished.

Looks kinda cute though...